Winter storm shuts down nation's capital

A winter storm marched into the Mid-Atlantic region Wednesday and dumped more than a foot of snow in some places, knocking out power to nearly 200,000 homes and businesses.

Virginia appeared to take the biggest punch from the storm, which pummeled the nation's midsection a day earlier. The weather largely spared the nation's capital, yet the typically bustling city had all but shut down ahead of the storm because officials didn't want a repeat of 2011, when a rush-hour snowstorm stranded commuters for hours.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell told state agencies to let employees work from home and later declared a state of emergency. About 50 National Guard soldiers were sent to central and northern parts of the state to help. Utility scrambled to restore power after fierce wind and heavy, wet snow snapped tree limbs and knocked out electricity to 170,000 customers in that state alone. Hundreds of car wrecks were reported but there were no deaths.

In Richmond, most commuters appeared to be headed home by midday with the exception of Clint Davis, an attorney who was needed in in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

"Unless they cancelled court, I had to be here," said Davis, who was wearing a hooded slicker over his suit to shield himself from gobs of snow blown from trees. "I'll be here for two or three hours and come out to a snow-covered car."

The streets in the nation's capital were also quiet. The threat of up to 10 inches of snow prompted federal offices in Washington and schools across the region to close. Commuter trains were canceled or on an abbreviated schedule, but by midday, the forecast for snow had been lowered and much of it melted away.

The storm dubbed the "snowquester" — after the wonky "sequester" term for $85 billion in federal budget cuts — did little immediate harm to D.C., much like the budget reductions that have started to take effect.

Washington resident Sheri Sable, out walking her two dogs in light rain, said the nation's capital gets spooked by snow; even the dog park she frequents failed to open at 7 a.m.

"They just say that it might snow and the whole city shuts down," she said.

In Pennsylvania and Ohio, many areas had 4 to 6 inches of snow. Minor tidal flooding was possible along parts of the Delaware and New Jersey coast and the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, the National Weather Service said.

Jim Lee, a weather service meteorologist in Sterling, Va., said snowfall amounts could vary greatly over a short distance.

"Over a course of, say, 20 to 30 miles, you may see a range from a few inches up to a foot of snow," Lee said.

The storm brought around 10 inches of snow to weather-hardened Chicago and closed schools in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, and canceled more than 1,100 flights at Chicago's two major airports.

Hundreds more flights were canceled Wednesday at Dulles and Reagan National airports in the Washington area, according to FlightAware.com.

While there were no initial reports of major accidents in the Chicago area, a semi-trailer slid off a snow-covered interstate in western Wisconsin, killing one person. The search for a second person, believed to be a passenger, was suspended overnight.

Still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, the Jersey Shore, along with other parts of the Northeast, prepared for another possible hit Wednesday and Thursday. The storm should bring rain and snow, but one of the biggest problems could be flooding in areas where dunes were washed away and many damaged homes still sit open and exposed. Those areas could get 2 to 4 inches of snow. A coastal flood warning was in effect until Thursday morning from Sandy Hook to Cape Cod.

The closure of many schools and offices helped ease traffic in the District of Columbia. Some Metro transit system bus routes were suspended or detoured, though trains were running on a normal schedule — albeit with an "anemic" passenger load, said spokesman Dan Stessel.

"You have your pick of seats on any Metrorail trains you board," Stessel said.

The Baltimore-Washington area's last major snowstorm struck Jan. 26, 2011. It hit Washington during the evening rush hour, causing some motorists to be stuck in traffic nearly overnight. It dropped 5 inches on Washington and 7.8 inches on Baltimore, knocked out power to about 320,000 homes and contributed to six deaths. The federal government later changed its policies to allow workers to leave their offices sooner or to work from home if major storms are expected.

EARLIER: After pummeling the nation's midsection with heavy snow, a late-winter storm made its way Wednesday to the nation's capital, where residents braced for the possibility of power outages.

As the storm closed in, the federal government said its offices in the Washington, D.C., area would be closed Wednesday. Many major school systems around Washington and Baltimore announced pre-emptive closures as well.

By early Wednesday, wet snow was falling in the Washington area. It was accumulating on the grass in some areas, but not on the streets as temperatures hovered above freezing. The worst of the storm was expected to arrive by midday.

The storm brought around 10 inches of snow to weather-hardened Chicago by late Tuesday, when snow was also starting to come down in parts of Virginia. Schools were closed in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, and more than 1,100 flights were cancelled at Chicago's two major airports, prompting delays and closures at others.

Airlines along the storm's projected path cut flights too, including hundreds more Wednesday at Dulles and Reagan National airports in the Washington area, according to FlightAware.com.

While there were no initial reports of major accidents in the Chicago area, a semi-trailer slid off a snow-covered interstate in western Wisconsin, killing one person. The search for a second person, believed to be a passenger, was suspended overnight.

As the storm pushed toward the Mid-Atlantic states, forecasters were predicting snow accumulations of 3 to 7 inches in the Washington area and up to 16 inches in the western Maryland mountains by Wednesday night. Tidal flooding was possible along the Delaware coast, the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay and the lower Potomac River.

Still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, the Jersey Shore was preparing for another possible hit Wednesday and Thursday. The storm should bring rain and snow, but one of the biggest problems could be flooding in areas where dunes were washed away and many damaged homes still sit open and exposed. Those areas could get 2 to 4 inches of snow, with Monmouth and some inland counties possibly getting as much as 6 inches.

An upper-level, low-pressure system coming in from the northwest and a surface low sweeping up from Kentucky were expected to converge along the Virginia-West Virginia line, bringing heavy precipitation, cold temperatures and winds gusting up to 35 mph.

"Whenever you're talking about that much heavy, wet snow and those winds of 20-30 mph with some higher gusts, there's a concern for numerous power outages," said National Weather Service meteorologist Jared Klein in Sterling, Va.

Both Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. and Pepco in the Washington area said they would have extra line crews available.

The Maryland State Highway Administration pre-positioned tow trucks at rest stops and park-and-ride lots, and told its tree-trimmers to get ready.

"We certainly anticipate some signal outages. We certainly anticipate some trees down, which can cause power outages," spokesman David Buck said.

The closure of many schools and offices was expected to alleviate snarled traffic in the District of Columbia. The Metro transit system was operating normal train service but said some bus routes would be suspended. Subway workers were focused on clearing snow from tracks, platforms and parking lots.

The Maryland Transit Administration was monitoring overhead power lines for snow and ice accumulation.

In Virginia, the storm was expected to dip along the coast and dump moisture-laden snow inland totaling a foot in the Blue Ridge Mountains and up to 21 inches in higher elevations.

Dominion Virginia Power had also alerted out-of-state utilities it might require assistance if the storm lived up to its billing.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell directed executive branch agencies to allow eligible nonessential employees to work remotely or to "be generous" in approving leave requests for workers who live in regions under a storm watch or warning.

The state's emergency operations center was to open Wednesday morning, and state transportation officials advised motorists to avoid travel at the height of the storm.

"The snow is going to come down at a very fast rate," agency spokesman Sandy Myers said. "We just need folks to stay off the roads so the plow drivers can hopefully keep up with the storm."

The Baltimore-Washington area's last snowstorm struck Jan. 26, 2011. It hit Washington during the evening rush hour, causing some motorists to be stuck in traffic nearly overnight. It dropped 5 inches on Washington and 7.8 inches on Baltimore, knocked out power to about 320,000 homes and contributed to six deaths.

Since then, the federal government has changed its bad-weather policies to allow workers to leave their offices sooner or to work from home if major storms are expected.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which sets leave policies for 300,000 federal workers, said non-emergency employees of the federal government would be granted excused absences for Wednesday. The agency was criticized after the 2011 storm for waiting too long to tell workers to go home, leading to gridlock.

Still, some Mid-Atlantic residents were looking forward to the snow. "I love it — I love it when we have snow days," Baltimore homemaker Mary White said Tuesday afternoon as she hurried to finish errands.

The current storm is part of a system that started in Montana, hit the Dakotas and Minnesota on Monday and then barreled through Wisconsin and Illinois on its way to Washington.